You're Worth It
by MusicLikesMe
Summary: What happens when a guitar string snaps and light is shed on some not-so-hidden feelings? Will Brandon get Callie to realise that even with the secrets, the sneaking around, and the getting caught... that she's worth it? Happily adopted from PatatoGirl! I send update reminders to PM's graciously! (:
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: You're Worth It**

"Hey Brandon?" I called from the dining room, staring down that wicked string that had popped out-of-place during tuning.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could help me with this string?" I grumbled as I tried to fashion it into another knob, "I accidentally snapped it, and this isn't exactly something... oh, I don't know, spent years in lessons actually doing?"

I could hear him chuckling at my pathetic situation as he finished drying the dishes in the kitchen, "Sure, do you mind going up to my room and grabbing a string from the desk?"

"No, that's cool, which drawer?" I answered hastily, wanting to get our guitar lesson started as quickly as possible.

"Second from the top on the left hand side" he called back.

I hurried up the stairs and shot him a smile as I went past.

As I walked in his room I could see evidence his obvious obsession with musical instruments, there were a stack of piano sheet music laying across from his keyboard and his 'book shelf' was stacked end to end with harmonicas, tambourines and their corresponding instruction booklets.

I quickly spotted his desk and I was astounded by the state of it, on my other visits to his room it had been neatly piled with school text books and his latest English reading material, but today the text books were strewn across his Acer laptop and his favorite edition of To Kill A Mockingbird- trust me, he had many copies - was hanging of one of the arm-rests on the swivel chair.

I looked beneath the ruffled exterior of the desk and started looking for the desk drawer which had the guitar strings.

That's when I hit a bit of a bump in the road… I couldn't remember which drawer he said it was in.

I racked my mind for the information he had told me just minutes before but I was coming up blank, maybe if I just searched through the drawers one by one then it would turn up!

I mentally slapped myself, what if he saw me going through his stuff? Brandon was always pretty possessive of his room, which is probably why Jude stayed with Jesus. Well, that and because Jesus's room was the only one that could fit another bed.

Okay, let's start on the right hand side: drawer numero uno.

I slid open the creaking block of oak and I felt disappointed to find only a measly notebook and some never used stationery.

The same thing went for almost every drawer on the right side, everything filled with useless rubble and I hadn't even opened the fourth drawer!

I bent down, but decided that it would just be easier if I just sat crossed-legged on the carpet; my back was killing me from bending down for every other drawer.

I slid it open; to find that it was jam-packed with enveloped that resembles the casings of guitar strings. I punched a fist into the air, thinking I was successful in my attempt. I rummaged through it but then took a better look at the envelopes.

Unlike the usual guitar string casings, they were plain white, not color coded like I was used to seeing in his little heaven. They were still the weird square shape, but I couldn't feel the wire strings beneath the paper. I felt a shifting of some sort when I rattled the envelope around, and it wasn't sealed so I opened the object, becoming a bit frustrated with the delaying of my lesson.

As I opened it, I saw the colorful glossy outline of a photograph. It felt slightly intrusive but my curiosity got the better of me and I slid the photo out of its packet.

A gust of air seemed to escape my mouth as I looked at the picture. It was Brandon and me, we were both covered in flour and laughing at Jesus, who was half cut off, but you could still clearly see the snapped skateboard dangling over his foot.

I turned the picture over, and found a date written on the back: 20/07/14- Pizza Night.

Giggling, I put the picture face down on the floor, and reached for the next picture in the envelope.

I stopped breathing altogether, as I saw the doting eyes upon my pixelated self, it was me sleeping, slumped against Brandon. Even I could remember the night this was taken, it was movie night, two weeks after Brandon had dumped Talya.

The rest of the Fosters and Jude were in the picture too, but it was clear that the main focus was Brandon and I, he stared down at me, adoration gleaming in his eyes and I couldn't help but wistfully think that he may feel something for me.

"Callie?" the soft voice interrupted me from my thinking.

"Brandon!" I screeched, reaching to tuck the photos back and shove them into the desk.

"What were you doing looking at my photos?" he questioned me suspiciously.

"I didn't- I mean, I did, but I thought that they were your- I'm sorry, I forgot which drawer and I found these and-"he pulled me up from the ground.

We stood toe to toe in his room, and I warily looked up into his eyes and saw that same adoration that I had seen in the picture.

Brandon, perfect, idolized, Brandon. He was my dream guy, he paid attention to me, he treated Jude as if he was his real brother and he was genuinely nice.

Maybe that adoration went further than just a sisterly love, I sure hope it did, because what I was about to do next sure went further than 'sisterly adoration'.

I kissed him.

I held my lips against his for a few daunting seconds but then pulled back, mortified by my actions. My jaw hung open like a goldfish and I was paralyzed in every inch of my body. Only the ticking of a clock could be heard in the embarrassing silence.

As what felt like concrete slowly seemed to removed itself from my feet, I turned around with the intent of going and hiding in my bed for the rest of a millennia. But he grabbed me by the elbow, spinning me around and slamming his lips against mine, they meshed together in sync as I wrapped my arms around his neck and his encircled my waist.

"Are you ok with this?" he asked me between kisses, his concern for me was endearing.

"More than ok" I replied, we both seemed to understand that- for now- this was going nowhere beyond kissing. That would make things far too complicated.

After what seemed like mere seconds - but was actually minutes - we broke apart, lips swollen and gasping for air, I couldn't concentrate on anything but the lack of space between us, it was unnerving how close our bodies were, and I prayed that he couldn't hear my heart pounding from inside my chest.

"Wow" he muttered from under his breath, ironically just what I was thinking.

It struck me how completely stupid and childish this was, just this alone could get Jude and me sent back to another foster home, and this was the first one that he had ever liked, and hadn't had to deal with bullying, or abuse or see me go through the same thing.

"Oh my god!" I said, mostly to myself, "What have I done? Brandon, I'm sorry, I know that we cant do this…"

I ran out of his room, and made my way downstairs, flinging open the front door and sprinting outside and into the pouring rain, wandering down the street until I sat down on a bus stop bench.

He had followed me out and I could see him sit down next to me.

"I shouldn't have put you in this position" I chastised myself while trying to form an apology, "the rules on this are written in stone, it wasn't fair of me to do that"

He stared at me, confusion clouding in his hazel eyes, but soon the inevitable realization dawned on him.

"Foster siblings are strictly prohibited to engage in any sort of romantic entanglement" he recited monotonously. Disappointment was plain on both of our faces but he listed my chin up defiantly, his eyes bore into mine, as if he were claiming them as his own.

"Callie, I'm not going to give you up because the system says so, haven't you always said I never get in trouble because I never do anything wrong?" I nodded. "It's because nothing was ever worth it! Callie, you are something worth getting in trouble for, you're worth it!" He whispered to me, still holding my gaze.

"What are you saying?" I asked, completely and utterly disbelieving that he was talking about what I thought he was talking about.

"I'm saying, Callie, that this could be between us, I can't let you go now, I can't even deal with the mere idea that I might have to walk around every day hiding what's between us, but that's better than the alternative, which is not being with you at all."

Tears swelled up in my eyes, this was too good to be true, somebody who wanted me for everything that I am, somebody who still wanted me even with Jude and my parole.

But could I really do this to him? Make him lie to his parents, his brother, his sister and put him at risk of getting in to serious trouble with the law. Not to mention that both his parents were cops!

"Please Callie?" his begging broke through me, and although sneaking around and hiding our relationship seemed like a pretty shady and stupid thing to do, especially in our situation, I don't think that I could deal with the alternative either.

"Yes" I whispered, kissing him gently on the lips.

"Yes?" he muttered into the kiss, ensuring that I wasn't going to change my mind.

"Yes!" he shouted picking me up and spinning me around, clutched in one of his massive bear hugs that I had become used to getting.

I laughed the best I could, all the happiness in the room wasn't something that I experienced very often, and it was a nice break from the constant worrying.

"I should probably get to bed, before your parents get home"

He frowned at me, "didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"There's a rainstorm up north where they are, they can't make it back till tomorrow morning, at the earliest" he clasped my hands in his pulling me closer, "so what do you say? Will you stay the night?"

**Thanks for reading! To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Singing in the Rain**

"I should probably sleep in my bed…" She furrowed her brow and bit on her lip. "If your parents catch us…"

"C'mon Callie, lets enjoy the time that we have left before we have to start hiding this".

I could see the war waging in her head, each little battle of good and bad were ready for action. But I wouldn't let her shy away from her feelings when I had just gotten her to admit them.

She stood there in the rain, deciphering her thoughts, when I realised that we were both soaked to the bone, as if we were Don Lockwood in Singing in the Rain.

"Let's go in so long, ok?" I wrapped my arm around her waist and tugged her in the direction. "We should get dry"

She nodded and let me pull her along, curling into my side, trying to stay warm.

We reached the front door and I pushed it open. "Wait!" I said as I saw Callie about to enter the house, I pulled her close once again and swung her over my shoulder.

She squealed at me and started lightly pounding her fists against my back "Brandon!" she wailed, "Let me go!"

"Nope, you'll get the floors all wet!" I retaliated, but was mostly distracted at how light she was, I knew that she didn't eat much, but surly this wasn't a healthy weight. I tried to get my joking manner back, "You, young missus, are taking a shower; you're starting to smell like wet dog!"

She gasped at me, "well Brandon that is no way to talk to a lady! Your mothers would be appalled at you!" she tried her best to create an air of aristocracy around her, which didn't exactly work as I was carrying her up the stars, her head bouncing against my back with each step.

We laughed together until we reached the bathroom, where I set her down and turned to walk away.

"Hey" she called out after me, "where are you going?"

I spun around so fast I got whiplash. "What do you mean?"

"Well" she said, fiddling with the edge of her shirt, "I was thinking that you could join me…"

As soon as the words left her mouth I could see the anxiousness in her eyes, awaiting my answer. All I could manage was a near imperceptible nod.

Was she really doing this? Inviting me to shower with her?

My silent question was answered by the smile tugging at the edges of her sultry mouth.

She held out her hand and grasped it in mine, and bit her lip. Just those soft delicate lips could make me go crazy, as they had in the past, which is how I knew that the only remedy for a mad-man was to kiss those lips.

So I did.

We treaded across the hard tile of the bathroom floor, slamming the door shut on our way. We shed our clothes until we were bare, and I pushed the curtain to the side so we could walk in. We were showering in a state of bliss, our little illusion that if Callie and I could just keep that shower curtain closed, we could be together without any discipline for our actions.

I skimmed my hand over the shadows of her ribs, so clearly jutting out on her frail figure.

"Callie" I whispered to her, she stared up at me, eyes full of tears, knees clanging together wreaked in nerves. "Are you ok?"

Tears kept pouring down her face, and she hugged me around the stomach, where I could feel the vibrations of her sobbing against me.

"Callie, Callie?" I pulled her head upwards to look at me, "What's wrong?"

She let out a choked laugh and smiled at me, "God, my mom would have loved you"

"What happened to her?" Callie had never mentioned her mom, either of her parents actually.

Her face instantly sobered up, and I regretted my words that took away that rare smile. "Well, I don't know, one day Jude and I came home and she was dead in the shower"

The bluntness of her words sunk in, and I could only feel horror at what a traumatic experience that must have been.

"After that, I just couldn't concentrate on anything, I skipped school, did loads of really stupid things…" she laughed silently, "And you know the stupidest thing? I'm still afraid to go in the shower!"

I had to crack a smile at that, Callie? Callie… afraid of something? That was something that I never expected her to admit.

I knew that she could get scared, I saw her eyes when we were in that house with Jude, but I never had even dreamed that she would confide in me like this, just her trust was a massive warning signal for me, for me not to blow it.

"Are you afraid now?" I tenderly bent her neck backwards and kissed her pulse point. " Because I don't want you to ever be afraid again."

"What, so you're going to shower with me every other day?" she shook her head in exasperation, "Brandon, its irrational, there's nothing to protect me from in a shower"

That wasn't something to discuss, I don't give a crap about Talya and the backwards ideas about popularity and privacy. Talya wasn't my girlfriend anymore; she was just some bitch who had the same friends as me.

"Bull, Callie. I'm not going to let you be afraid of anything, that's what a boyfriend is supposed to do"

"Boyfriend?" she tilted her head, allowing me further access to her neck.

"Yes, boyfriend", I mumbled against her skin, "And you know what else boyfriends do?"

"What?" she smirked at my antics

"They feed you endless amounts of bacon and eggs until you're so fat that you look pregnant!" She quirked an eyebrow at me and burst into giggles. God I loved this girl. Wait, loved?

Callie recovered from her fit of laughter and started inching towards the shower curtain.

"Well okay then, boyfriend, we should probably dry off and get ready for bed, before you get me so fat that I can't fit into my pyjamas"

Still inching towards the curtain she started to slide it open, "Dibs on the last towel!" she shouted and I cussed at her.

Leaping out of the shower after her I tried to get the towel without slipping but she wrestled it out of my grip and wrapped it around her body quickly, she stuck her tongue out at me and turned around, headed towards the door.

"C'mon Callie! I'm cold!" she laughed at me

"You snooze you lose Brandon!" with that she gave me a little wave and flung open the door and stepped out.

Both of our eyes widened in shock. I was the first one to speak.

"Oh hey Jesus"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Ever Heard of Humility**

I stared at Jesus in horror as he looked me up and down, his skate board falling to the ground with a clank.

"Oh hey Jesus…" Brandon said from behind me.

He looked at Brandon, eyes filled with horror at the sight of his brother standing in the nude behind me, but a tiny bit of thankfulness that Brandon was close enough behind me that he couldn't see anything… too revealing.

Jesus backed away slowly, murmuring to himself, "Ok, I fell of my skate board and hit my head on the sidewalk", seeming to approve of his own explanation, he squeezed his eyes shut and started counting, "Uno, dos, tres!"

He opened his eyes and threw his hands in the air, but seeing us again, they dropped back to his sides.

"Holy shit! Brandon? What the hell are you doing man?" he shouted at us

"What am I doing?" Brandon retaliated "What the hell are you doing? You weren't supposed to be back till tomorrow!"

"I didn't go that poetry thing man! I've been at school, had a late detention!"

We all stood there awkwardly, Jesus staring at us both with exasperation in his eyes, Brandon barely covered my small stature, and me acting as the Wall of China between the two.

"So, you two are together now?" he asked, bending down to pick up a skateboard.

I remembered the word that he described me with earlier. Fuzzy warmth filled my stomach and I knew that this guy was different from Liam.

"Yeah" I replied, turning back around, "He's my boyfriend"

I felt Brandon move closer and wrap his arms around my waist. They felt so natural there, as if they were a part of me that had been missing for so long.

I leaned my head back against his chest and I couldn't help the small smile that appeared on my face. I used my hand to secure the towel that hung dangerously loose, the other one snaked around Brandon's forearm.

Without a second glance at Jesus, I allowed Brandon to spin me around to face him, seeing the same slightly arrogant smile on his face. The perfect mirror of mine,

He took my lips in his, and oblivion washed over us once again, as if we were alone in the shower as we had been minutes before.

Wrapped in our own different world, Brandon lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Excuse me?", Jesus put his hand in the air, as if waiting to ask a question, "You realise I'm still here? Right?"

We broke apart with a sigh and I was dropped on my feet once again. "Ok, Jesus, give us a second to get dressed and we'll talk about this downstairs"

My voice was strong an definitive, unlike my heart beat, which was pounding ferociously within my chest, as I tried to tell myself that Jesus was trustworthy, not because of his alliance with me but with me, but because he loved his brother too much to let him hurt.

He responded to my order by huffing and stomping down the stairs.

"You have got to be kidding me guys!" Jesus yelled at us, "Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get in?"

Brandon and I sat on the couch; I was tucked under his arm while trying my hardest not to shed any tears.

"Jesus!" Brandon shouted back at him, "I know how bad this is could be for us, ok?"

He looked at me, eyes full of emothion, "We didn't mean for this to happen, but we knew it was coming for a while and ever since I finally got rid of Talya-"

"Wait?" Jesus put out a hand to stop us, "You broke up with Talya?"

"Well no shit Sherlock! What did you think?" Brandon looked about ready to murder his brother" That I would cheat on my girlfriend?"

"No, I just… Well, you never said that, so I wasn't sure!"

"Well, we aren't together anymore, Callie and I are."

"So are you going to let us explain?" I said, finally breaking into the intimidating silence.

Jesus stopped his pacing and sat down on the sofa across from us, he motioned me to continue with a swift nod of the head.

"Remember when I was shouting at you sister for reading my journal?"

He nodded.

"Well, it turns out that it was Talya; eventually Brandon found out and he ended things." I paused, uncertain of how to continue, "Then tonight, we kind of… well we just, happened, I guess."

Jesus looked at us in disbelief, "do you guys even understand what could happen because of this? Our Moms are going to freak out, and what about Jude, Callie?"

I stopped trying to hold back the tears and the sobbing commenced; Brandon's t-shirt now covered in stains. "Bro, just listen for a sec, we understand how screwed we are right now, but we just need you to keep this a secret ok? Nobody can know about this."

Once again pacing the room, he tugged on the ends of his hair with his hands, a nervous habit I could remember noticing when I had first arrived.

"Why are you guys doing this to me!" she groaned, "I cannot handle this stress!"

I sniggered a bit, through all the tears, and even Brandon had to laugh at the Latinos over-exaggeration.

"Please Jesus" Brandon begged, "we'll do you chores for a month, just please don't tell mom's yet"

"Haven't you ever heard of humility?" he asked us

"I' surprised you've even heard of it" Brandon replied honestly.

"Well, timothy told me about it today, and I think that this is when I'm supposed to use it."

He went over into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl; after that disappearing from sight.

"So I guess were safe, for now" I leaned into him suggestively.

"I guess we are…" he moved closer to me and our lips were millimetres apart.

Suddenly Jesus burst back into the living room.

"One last thing, no more bathroom sex, please. I have to use that shower!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Somebody Heard Him**

_Two days later…_

"Hey B!" Stef called upstairs to her biological son, "We have to go now!"

Callie came down the stairs first, as expected. She and Brandon came up with a plan so it always appeared as if they were in different places. From the looks they got from the two moms, it wasn't working. Probable cause was that the two of them were too damn oblivious to the rest of the world, and that they were often caught off guard, far too easily as well.

The first incident happened the day after the 'sex in the bathroom' run-in. Callie was sleeping in Brandon's bed when his cop-of-a-mom stumbled through his bedroom door after the road trip, back from the reading, without 27 hours of sleep, resulting in impaired speech, hearing and sight.

Callie was lying closest to the wall on the bed, Brandon spooning her from behind, when he was shaken awake by his mom.

"Brandon" she fumbled and slurred her words, "We going to sleep… Were going sleep… We are going to sleep"

His entire body tensed under the sheets as he lifted them a bit higher, so that Callie's head was covered.

"Yeah, ok mom, see you at lunch"

"Uh!" she walked through the doorway, "All my babies growing up!"

Shortly after he heard the cussing of his mom slamming into the banister then falling and the pitter-patter of Jude's footsteps running to help her up.

"Thank you Jude" she hugged the small boy close.

"Sure Stef" Jude helped her up and guided her in the direction of her and Lena's room, "you ok?"

"No, baby." She lay down in her bed and nestled into the pillows, "I never want to drive again"

He laughed at her antics and walked over to his bedroom, then fell asleep, not at all enlightened from four hours packed full of confusing rhymes.

Jude walked across to the room he shared with Jesus, but just as he crossed the threshold, he decided to see if Callie was alright first. He knew that she got a bit uneasy when she was alone in the house with a boy, ever since Liam, anyways.

He tapped on the door, cautious of Marianas privacy wishes. Hearing the girl's light snores, he decided to risk it and walked in. In the dim light, he found it hard to see, but the boy walked over to the space where he knew his sisters' bed was, and sat on the end of it.

"Callie?" he whispered, "You still awake?"

The absence of a reply was enough for Jude to start patting around the area of the bed, and keep patting, and patting more, until he finally confirmed that she wasn't in her bed.

Worst case scenarios flooded his mind, had Callie run away? Did something happen to her?

He ran back to his and Jesus' room, contemplating his next move. Should he wake someone up? It was nearly four in the morning though, and everyone had just fallen asleep.

He decided on waking Lena up, she always seemed to have a cool head about things… well, except for the 'birth control' incident. But he was on her side for that one; never would he give meds to someone else's kid. He'd already been someone's drug mule once, and Callie swore it wouldn't happen again.

He wondered into the hallway looking for Callie, deciding that Lena could probably use her sleep, and after circulating around the bedrooms, he finally heard the irregular pattern of her breathing that calmed him so much.

It was coming from Brandon's room, the ultimate forbidden territory to the boy's sister. Giving up on all hope of having a good night's sleep, he ventured into the teenager's room, careful not to step on any instruments or sheet music.

He ran over to the bed and searched wildly for Callie, but all he saw was Brandon, who he wasn't aware was awake.

"Callie?" the brunettes franticness nearly made Brandon leap out of the bed to console him, but decided against it, because if he moved even an inch, Callie would be revealed and Jude would be wrapped up in a mess that was way out of his league.

Brandon let the boy whisper and pace until he heard the click of the door, signalling that it was safe to move.

So he moved into the safest position possible, his arms wrapped around Callie, spooning her from behind.

At peace, he finally decided that he could speak his mind.

"Callie" he murmured to her, though to the naked eye, it would seem that he was talking to himself. "You frustrate the hell out of me and I never feel like I'm good enough for you"

He brought her tighter to him.

"But even then, I can't let you go, because I know that I've got a good thing, here, with you, and I'm not going to let go of it." He wished that she could hear him, "and every time that I look at you and I see that you don't think that _you're_ good enough. It makes me feel like such a massive prick that I can't make you see yourself the way that I see you"

His eyed blurred over and sleep was grasping him, but before it could take him, he whispered one last thing.

"God dammit Callie, I think I love you."

If only he knew that in this incident, somebody had heard him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Something On Your Face!**

When we sat down for breakfast there was an eerie chill going around the table. Jude was preoccupied with his new toy from Connor, and paying little attention to anything other than the shiny toy, and the absence of arguing from the twins aided his introvert behavior as a touch of frostbite. The warmth of conversation was gone, and the coffee pot was sitting in its corner, silent, not brewing that horrible crap that Callie and my mom's like it, which left a void in the less caffeinated atmosphere.

Living in the same kind of environment since you were six was comforting, that's the only way to describe it. Routine was followed as usual, and even though there were the times of rough and tumbles… like my mom getting full custody over me, and like when Lena had her first major falling out with my dad Mike… well, despite all that, nobody ever went to bed angry.

But the kitchen felt angry, not the sparks flying in every direction and dust getting kicked into your face angry, but rather the harsh sound of hitting the wrong chord. That was out of the routine.

And the routine never skipped a beat, not with my parent's divorce, not with mom and Lena getting together, not with the adoption of the twins, not even with Callie, and then eventually Jude.

So the question begged: What's wrong?

Callie and I slyly glanced at each other, both feeling the scrutiny upon us.

No verbal communication was needed; you could just study the lines on her face and read a sentence like she was a novel. For the first time I realised that she had become an open book to me, just as she always was with Jude. I don't know if she heard what I said last night, and part of me hoped she didn't, Callie is too fragile to deal with any strong emotions now. Even I could tell that.

_Earlier that day…_

_When I woke up with her in my arms, I couldn't believe my eyes. Her hair was tossed across her check and her lips upturned in a content smirk, which made my heart flutter in a way that Talya never even begun to match._

_The moment was perfect, slightly stalker-ish, but my ideal definition of perfect._

"_Brandon", Shit. She was awake? "Stop staring at me… please."_

_Her eyes cracked open and her questioning glance jabbed an answer out of me._

"_Uh… Sorry, I was just... you have something on your face!" I nearly slapped myself at that moment, really? You have something on your face? Wasn't that like the opening line to every bad -yet romantically cheesy- kiss in the movies? _

_I'm never going to hear the end of this... "Something… on my face?" even Callie wasn't convinced with my attempt to weasel my way out of a really dim-witted staring contest between me and her- apparently not-so-unknowing –face._

"_So how many girls have you used that line on?" her head bobbed up and down, her little quirk that let me knows she was poking fun at me._

"_None, c'mon Callie, do you really think I would ever use that line?"_

"_Oh really? So what's on my face?"_

"_Ok, so I may have used it on one or two girls…"_

"_That's what I thought "She smiled brightly at me, while I faked a pout._

_Her tinkling laugh danced through the air and she pecked me on the lips lightly, turning it into a smirk._

_We turned on our backs and looped our hands together, as I suddenly remembered a very important detail about last night. _

"_Uh, Callie?" I turned my head to face hers._

"_Yeah?" she intertwined our fingers, and looked back at me._

"_I should probably tell you that the moms are back from the concert, right?"_

"_What?" she screeched, lurching upright "you didn't think to tell me this earlier?"_

"_Well we've only been awake for 10 minutes!"_

"_What if they see me here Brandon? I thought you understood that I can't risk this for Jude!"_

"_Why are you so afraid Callie?" I spoke softly as her eyes filled to the brim with tears that threatened to fall past the dark lashes that surrounded molted brown orbs. "My mom's won't send you anywhere, you know that"_

"_Do I Brandon? Do I really know that? What if they think I'm a bad influence, what if they sand me away? What if they sand Jude away?"_

"_Callie, look at me" I lifted her chin up, about to repeat my question, "Why are you so afraid?"_

"_What if I tell you and you don't want me anymore?" with my hand cradling her jaw, and tears leaking from her eyes, she looked like a fragile rose bud, and with the right coaxing, maybe I could help it bloom._

"_I guarantee you that will never happen"_

_She took a long shaky breath and slowly started unraveling her tales, every moment of sorrow and intrusion that was forced on her by Liam Olmstead, and every fight she fought to make sure that her brother never had to face the hardships that she went through. By the end of her story I felt no regret for loving her, I didn't want to take back I single second I spent with her, but I would give it all up, if she could just erase her past, have her mother back, and have saved that tiny piece of innocence she still had left._

"_Callie Jacobs, how could you ever think that telling me the truth would turn me away?"_

"_How can I think it wouldn't, Brandon?" she wiped away the rogue tears, "You are such a good guy, you are talented and smart and cute and I've never met anyone who has the capability of being as caring as you are?"_

"_You think I'm cute?" I started grinning like a fool, despite the severity of what we had discussed seconds ago._

"_I take back smart"_

"_Sorry Calls, no take-backs" _

_She poked me in the stomach and gaped at my cheekiness._

"_That's not fair!"_

"_Well Calls, the world's an imperfect place!"_

"_Shut up you moron" she lifted one leg to the other side of me and I thought she was going to kiss me, so I wrapped an arm around her waist, but with the arm also came a quizzical look, so I surmised that I was doing something wrong._

"_Aren't you going to let me get up?"_

_I kept my arm slung around her and acted as if I was genuinely weighing my options; I opted for a sweet and simple response, "Nope."_

_A short giggle burst from her lips and her eyes- still red and swollen from crying- glimmered with amusement. She tried to wrestle her way out of my grasp, but we both ended up in a heap on the floor under my sheets, which was strangely reminiscent of when I used to grapple with Jesus for the blankets on movie night._

_Lying there, I decided to ask my rather ill-timed question._

"_Callie, did you ever report what he did to you?"_

_She instantly sobered up, "I figured, even if I did tell somebody, it's not like they would ever believe me, the Olmstead's sure didn't"_

"_You should really consider it, I know moms would understand, and I could go get the forms from the station tomorrow" she didn't look convinced at my persuasive argument, so I threw in a low blow, "We need to make sure that the other girl living there doesn't get hurt Calls, telling the moms is best, at the very least there will be a file made on him and his family won't be able to foster again."_

_She looked at me, and slowly nodded, "Should we tell them today?"_

"_As soon as possible" I agreed with her._

_We finally decided that it was in our best interests to get up, with the family back, and Jesus probably looming over our shoulder 24/7, we might have to exercise our more creative sides in order for us to get any face time… I guess we're back to the ho-hum-happy foster siblings that we were yesterday._

You could probably cut through the tension in the kitchen with a knife, Callie and I both ducked our heads and resumed our breakfasts, pretending that we were impervious to the stares we were getting from the heads of the table.

"So how was the poetry slam?" I asked Mariana, hoping that the babbling of the Latina would relieve some of the pressure.

"It was fine. Brandon." Stef answered for her. "So were you ever going to tell us?"

From across the table I could see Callie freeze in exact synchronicity with me.

"Uh, what do you mean, mom?" panic was setting in, and my nervous habit of shaking my left knee was starting up, if you listened closely, you could probably hear my heel hammering against the wooden frame of the stool.

"You know what I mean young man!" mom was using her slightly taken aback look paired with the slight tilt backwards, so I calmed down a bit. That was the look that mom had given me when I ate the cookie dough from the fridge when I was seven. She was never actually mad about it until later that night when she and Lena realised they were spending the next two days taking care of a sick kid.

"Um… no I don't think I do… care to share?"

"You broke up with Talya!" Lena burst out, "When did you think you were going to tell us you dumped your girlfriend of three years?"

Suddenly everything clicked in my head, the taken-aback-tilt from mom and the silence from the kitchen which was the absence of Lena's voice.

"Well, shouldn't you be happy about that? You never liked her anyways."

Seeing each member of the families face fall as if their deep dark secret was let out was mildly satisfying, but when mom started choking on her food I really started laughing at the ridiculous lot.

"H-how? How did you know? It was our best kept secret!" mom sputtered out, Lena patting her on the back and helping her recover.

I shook my head and finished with breakfast, now that the scare was over, I was planning my tactics in pulling the moms away to talk to Callie.

I looked at her over the table as a thought came into my head, "After breakfast?" I mouthed to her.

She nodded and put her dishes in the sink, me following suit.

We sat back down at our places and waited for the twins and Jude to filter out.

When it was just the two of us I coughed lightly, trying to draw their attention.

"Callie and me have something to tell you"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Compare to Her**

I realized something wasn't right, I didn't quite know what, but that little voice in the back of my head that resembled my mother's was screaming at me warning me against something, but it was like listening to it through a brick wall, which -if you've ever been in a situation like that- doesn't translate very well.

It had appeared from the moment that Lena mentioned my break-up with my infamous ex: Talya. The voice had been there and stayed there, but I figured that it was best just to put that voice in a metal cage and get on with the situation at hand. Which was the Callie finally telling somebody about Liam, and making sure that the bastard got behind bars… but more importantly, that the girl, who was now in Callie's position, went to a better home.

So as the moms perched themselves on the dining room table straight across from us, and glanced at each other in anticipation and worry, I clasped Callie's hand in mind, and gave her an encouraging nod.

My mom saw the clear anxiety that Callie was feeling and she reached to cover Callie's free hand, which was on the table top, with her own.

"Callie? C'mon love, what is this about?" Mom tried to coax her into speaking. It was the voice I had heard a million times, at the police station when she was talking to a victim, it was the same tone that she had used when Mariana and Jesus first arrived at our home… when they didn't trust us yet.

Callie didn't know this voice though; it was different from the usual hard-ass woman she admired. She took a deep breath and her chest raised shakily, her head ducked low.

"About two years ago I was living with a really nice foster family" her hand was clutching mine as if it were a life line. "And while I was there, the son of the couple… well, he took a special interest in me."

Her hand started to loosen and tremble over mine. She leaned towards me.

"I can't do this Brandon" she whispered in my ear, "I just can't."

I pulled her chair closer to mine, and she winced at the sound as it dragged across the hardwood floor.

I put a hand on her back, careful not to display any other emotions but that of a worried older brother. My Moms exchanged a look, and I couldn't quite read their faces before Callie started again.

"Well, this boy, he used to take Jude and I out to movies, and buy us whatever candy or popcorn we wanted… he treated us as if we were his real siblings." I started rubbing small circles in her back, "Then one day, he found out that I had already watched the movie he wanted to take me to… so he convinced his parents to take Jude out while he hung out with me back home."

"We had fun; he took me for ice cream… But then a few weeks later when Jude and my foster parents were outside, he came up to me in the kitchen." I could see the scene was playing out in her mind while she retold the story. "He started running his hand along my arm, and whispering about how thin I was, and how he liked my hair."

"I could feel the cool counter when he pressed me back, lifting the edge of my shirt, but before he could do anything more I ran back outside"

Lena and Mom interlocked their hands on the table, all color gone from their faces.

"Then that night-" She choked, and buried her head in my shirt, the tears were like hailstones, probably leaving stains. I didn't care; all I knew was that this amazing, wonderfully flawed girl with the worst of luck had to tell the people she finally grew to care about, about something that she believed would have them ship her off.

I heard the whirr and clicking in their minds as it finally seeped in and struck them, they both let out small gasps.

"Callie, love, how old were you?"

"She was thirteen, Mom"

Tears sprung to her and Lena's eyes, their faces creased and seemed to have aged centuries as they bared the weight of this news. Lena's rich, dark skin was ravaged by tears and my Mom's bottom lip trembled as she tried to keep from crumbling.

Callie had stopped crying into my shirt, but I held her close anyways. My chin was propped against the top of her head.

The knock that came at the door echoed through the house. I was suddenly glad the rest of the family wasn't here to witness this, the two pillars of strength falling; Callie rendered helpless, as her brother had never seen her before.

Both moms got up to answer; Lena wiped a tear away again and pulled open the heavy oak. Both of their eyes widened in shock as a red-head tore through the front entrance, and stopped in front of the table. Callie finally looked up and saw Talya standing over her.

"You slut!" she screamed at Callie. "That is my boyfriend!"

Oh sweet Josephine.

"Talya? What are you doing here?" she didn't answer. She swayed on the spot then gripped the table tightly, leaning closer to Callie; she was starting to make me nervous.

"You _bitch_!" she seethed from between her clenched jaw. Her eyed burned holes where my hand had slipped to just on the curve of my girlfriend's hip. "You are such a _slut_"

The air grew tense and everybody's eyes darkened with the want of ripping the pale-skinned girl to shreds.

Talya launched herself at Callie, but the moms had prophesized her next move and were already restraining her from behind.

"I hate you! You stole my life" she yelled, "why don't you just go back to your precious Liam?"

My eyes became steely, unforgiving. My thoughts were hazy and my sight was blurry.

I stood up abruptly, and pulled Callie behind me. I leaned closer to Talya.

"_You_ are the bitch." I whispered, jabbing a finger into her chest. "_You_ are the slut."

She stumbled back in shock, her mouth hanging open, surprised. I was too.

"You think that I don't know you can control everything with sex? Why do you think I ended this with you?" I couldn't even think straight now, disbelief and rage overcame all my senses. "_You_ go through Callie's journal! _You_ hoar around at parties and _you_ don't even care! You didn't ever love me Tayla! You couldn't love me, you can't love anyone! Because _you_ are a _heartless bitch_!

I was too far gone to think about what I was saying now.

"Get out of my family's home! Get out of my family's lives! And don't even _think_ about getting near my family!"

Without any further thought I grasped her by the arm and dragged her towards the door, shoved her onto the front porch and slammed the door shut on her slack-jawed face.

I lay on my bed, rubbing the worn edges of the picture of me and Callie covered in flour. So much had happened because of this little picture. Looking at it now it seemed so ridiculous. How could I so easily put my life in such a petit brunettes hands? All these years of safely guarding all my innermost thoughts and feelings, were just discarded as if in never mattered. And it never did matter.

After the incident with Talya, the moms decided it was best to just sleep of all the excitement of today. But my bed felt empty without her. Without her warmth or soft breaths when she was in the deepest part of her slumber.

I slid out of bed and slipped out of my room, not bothering with a shirt. I tip-toed across the hall way towards Mariana and Callie's room, where I found my girl still awake, the dull orange glow from a light illuminated the space around her, but didn't dare creep across to Mariana's side of the room. I heard the scrawling of a pen writing in synchronicity with her motions.

The rustling on her paper and she turned pages was a comforting sound, that had grown to be the last thing I heard before I drifted out of consciousness every night.

It took her a moment to notice me, but when she finally saw me peer out from the doorway, she bared no resemblance of surprise, not in the faintest. A small smile appeared on both of our faces as she put her stationary on the bedside table and opened the sheets to me, inviting me to crawl in.

We lay side by side, intertwined until we were a tangle of limbs, she drifted to sleep quickly and I knew that I was soon to follow.

I reached an arm out of bed and switched off the light, now we only bathed in the white light of the moon, and I realized that, though Callie's hair wasn't a rich cacophony of color, while her lips weren't seductress red, although her eyes anything but a luminescent green, exempt of walking with exuberant confidence, nothing could compare to the simple beauty that she possessed.

Nothing could compare to her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Age Progression Software**

My life was in a current state of bliss. I woke up with her lying in my arms, I showered with her in my arms, and I lived with her in my arms. She was the sun that my life revolved around, as cheesy as I know that is. It also happened that all of my "life" was happening beneath my family's noses. They were more alert after the Talya incident, but I think they just thought that I considered Callie as one of my siblings… I didn't have the balls to break that façade. The betrayal that my Mom's would feel, Jude might even stop trusting me. I was most scared of Mariana. The one thing that she hated more than anything in the world was being left out of a secret, but there was a reason that we didn't tell her… she was never one for digression. A grade-A example would be her drunk self blurting out about Jesus' and Lexi's extracurricular activities… on front of Lexi's parents.

Even with all of that, I still couldn't believe my luck.

What were the chances that I would manage to uphold a relationship with the girl I loved for two weeks, without anybody else finding out, or anything dramatic happening.

True, there was always the whole 'Liam' thing, but that was being dealt with. Callie had told me that the very most they could do was charge him, have the charges put on his permanent record, and get a restraining order. I still thought that the bastard should be put behind bars for the rest of his life because of what he had done, but apparently the word of a foster girl that was recently put in Juvie wasn't valid grounds for putting him in the slammer.

I couldn't wait for Callie and me to be 18, then I would finally be of age, and we could finally be together without any risks. She wouldn't have to move to another foster home, she wouldn't get any red flags on the foster care folder. We would finally be free to be ourselves. No more games of hide and seek.

But for now, everything was going well.

Until I decided that I should go downstairs to have some breakfast.

Callie was still in Marianas room, she had woken up early to move there after spending the night in my bed, and I decided to wander down to the kitchen. I checked on Callie quickly, poking my head through the door, and I checked on Jude. They were both snoring lightly with the dame innocent faces; they looked even more alike when they were asleep.

The sound of my bare feet thumping was muffled by the carpet as I rocketed down the stairs, smelling Lena's world famous bacon and eggs; I had hoped that Jesus hadn't eaten them all already.

Instead, I found the Mom's, Jesus and Mariana, and my dad, all crowded around the TV.

Mom was holding Lena upright, Mariana and Jesus were hugging each other, and my dad looked like he was about to faint. I remembered that this was March 25th, the day that my parents started their first unsolved case together. The case had haunted them every year, and on this day they always came together to pray for the family, even though we weren't religious.

I stayed silent and listened to the news reporter on TV.

"Today is the 11 year anniversary of the kidnapping of Emily Lovett and her brother, Jacob. The two kids were abducted from their Beverly Hills home at 2am on March 25th. Their parents were downstairs when the kidnapper snuck in and knocked them unconscious." The newscaster remained solemn, "the mother was taken along with the kids, and none of them have been seen since. Bradley Lovett is making another plea to find his children and his wife. Emily was 4 years old at the time of the kidnapping, and Jacob was two months old."

A man appeared on the screen, the video was shaky, and you could tell that it had been filmed with some type of handheld device.

"My wife and children were taken from me 11 years ago, and ever since I have fallen asleep every night wondering if they were safe, or if they were even alive." A tear rolled down the man's cheek, "if you know where my family is, please tell me. I promise that no charges will be pressed. I just want my family back"

The video clip ended and a picture of a 30-odd year old woman appeared on screen. They announced her as Darla Lovett, then two other pictures appeared on the screen, one was of a 4 year old little girl with light brown hair and one was of a newborn baby with the darkest brown eyes that I had ever seen on a newborn. They announced them as Emily and Jacob, and then they showed pictures of them using "age progression software" which we all knew was probably just a police sketch artist left with these two pictures and his imagination.

But the result of the "software's" work shocked me, and everyone else I suspected, considering the gasps that everyone sucked in.

There was no mistaking it, even though the girls' hair was darker and the boys' eyes were a lighter color. The odds were next to nothing, and for a split second I thought I was seeing things, but my eyes definitely weren't deceiving me.

It was Callie and Jude.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: One for the Team**

The world seemed frozen around me. Nobody moved, but the newscaster kept speaking, the only sign that the world hadn't actually taken a pause.

"It's Callie and Jude" everyone turned to face me, they probably hadn't realised that I was there. "Mom, Dad that was Callie and Jude!"

Both of them looked too stunned to speak. We saw these photographs every year, each time the people in them got a bit older. We only took Callie and Jude in five months ago. How did we not notice who they were for five whole months?

"It can't be them" I wasn't willing to let her go. Not now. "They must have gotten the pictures wrong"

"Love-" my mom started, but I cut her off.

"No mom. What if this is some trick? What if that guy isn't a good person? What if he hurts them?"

"Love, me and your father worked with this man for months trying to find his family, it's not a trick. I know for a fact that he is a good person, and if Callie and Jude really are his kids, then he will treat them well."

"Brandon, listen. Don't you think that this man deserves his family back? It's been 11 years; he just wants to be with his kids." My dad came dangerously close to me, patting my shoulder with a hand. "Callie and Jude won't just disappear. It takes time to sort these things out."

My mom gave him a grateful look.

"Listen Brandon, we still need to tell Callie and Jude about what's happening, so maybe you could wake them up?" her hand was rubbing Lena's back soothingly, "We will stuff them up with some og Lena's world-famous bacon and eggs, then we'll break the news."

I nodded slowly, and then walked off. I made my way up the stairs sluggishly, and I could tell that Jesus was the one following me.

I reached the top of the stairs and he bulldozed me into my room.

"Brandon what are you doing man?" he whisper-screamed at me, "are you trying to ruin Callie and Jude's lives?"

"Huh?" I shook my head, not understanding, "How am I ruining Callie and Jude's lives?"

"You think they don't notice how your acting?" he hit me in the shoulder, "Callie is still with us for another month or so, that's if it turns out that man is her father. But what if he isn't her father? Then all you're doing is outing yourselves, and then Callie and Jude will have to move, and we won't be allowed to see them again!"

I begrudgingly saw his point.

"Well what do you suppose I do Jesus? She is going to go off and live in her Beverly Hills mansion, and forget all about me! I can't let her go, I love her."

"If you love her, then you can trust her. Beverly Hills is only a two-hour drive away; you could visit her every weekend if you wanted!" Jesus walked out of the room, shouting his last words "Don't forget to wake the sleeping beauties up!"

I fall back on my bed and threw an arm over my face. I didn't want to wake them up now. It was selfish and it was stupid, but I wanted them to stay sleeping forever. I wanted them to stay with us, where I knew they would be protected and safe.

But that wasn't going to happen, because I felt a petit body crawl on the bed, and rest beside me.

"Brandon?" she nuzzled into my neck, "You ok?"

"I'm fine." I replied curtly, blinking back tears, "Let's go wake up Jude, Lena made breakfast"

With mention of breakfast, Callie leapt out of bed to get her brother. She had figured out the protocol around this house, get breakfast, and get it fast or you won't get it at all. Jesus was a healthy eater.

We all met again in the kitchen. Stef and Lena sat board straight at the table, and nobody talked except when somebody needed the butter or the maple syrup, Callie and Jude remained completely unaware of the happenings of the morning, and I prayed that they didn't catch an unhealthy curiosity to watch the news today.

I knew that Dad was waiting outside in his car and I saw the Mom's frequent glances at each other, they urged each other to start the topic of Jude and Callie's origins, but neither of them would do it.

Needless to say, I took one for the team.

"Callie, Lena, Mom and I really need to talk to you."

Her head shot up in shock, and her eyes bore into mine, begging the question: Do they know about us?

I shook my head, and her worry eased, but her curiosity peaked. I had to give her one thing: she never really calmed down about anything; it just went on from one emotion to another. She was the complete opposite of me: and we fit like jigsaw puzzle pieces.

She slid off her seat and ruffled Jude's hair as we led her outside. Mike saw us as we opened the front door and got out of the police vehicle.

"Am I under arrest or something" Callie asked, confused beyond doubt.

All of us had to suppress a laugh at that.

"No love" My mom said as she sat Callie down on the porch, "you aren't under arrest… or something"

Callie cracked a smile and we all followed the motions of sitting down on the steps of the front entrance.

"Callie, when you were about 4 years old, Stef and Mike were working on a case together. There was a kidnapping in Beverly Hills, two children were taken from a house, and so was their mother." Lena rested a hand on my dad's shoulder, a show of unwarranted support. "Their names were Emily: the little girl, Jacob: her little brother, and Darla Lovett: the mother."

Callie subconsciously leaned into my shoulder. We hid our now interlocked hands behind her knee, teetering dangerously on the brink of stupidity. With all our guardians sitting beside us, our hidden show of affection wasn't a bright idea at all, but I knew that the information that was coming would be a crippling blow to her.

"I'm sorry Lena, I don't understand" Callie started, "What do these people have to do with me?"

My dad pulled an envelope out of his top pocket, it was small and secured only by a ridiculous little string, but he unwound it carefully and slid three small pieces of paper delicately from the packet.

He put the three pictures in Callie's out starched hand, and she carefully turned them over so that she could see the image.

From the step above her I could see the image perfectly: that of a small mousey-brown haired girl with adorably pink cheeks. She shuffled that one to the bottom and moved to the picture of a baby with tufts of hair peeking from beneath a yellow baby-beanie.

She shuffled that one to the bottom and saw a picture of a young woman. Callie was a near clone of the brunette, and judging from the gasp that escaped Callie, she saw the resemblance too.

"I still don't understand…"

Dad pulled out another small packet and repeated the same process, placing them face down in Callie's hand.

She flipped them over.

A computer generated picture of her, and her brother lay before her, as well as an old picture of her mother.

She gasped in shock, her eyes brimmed with tears and I hurried to comfort her.

"Brandon? What is this?" she asked me, nearly shrieking, "What are you trying to say?"

I slid an arm around her shoulders, and the adults were far too preoccupied with making sure that Callie didn't have a heart attack to care.

"We think that you and Jude are Emily and Jacob Lovett, Callie." I tried to make my voice sound calm, even if it was just a façade, but a waver in my speech revealed me. "11 years ago today was when the kidnapping took place. Everything matches up: age, gender, even the picture of your mother."

She stood abruptly and turned to face all of us, "Ok, so what if I am Emily Lovett and Jude is Jacob Lovett?" she asked in a remarkable calm voice, "What happens then?"

"Well love, then we would do some DNA testing, see if our theory is correct, and then get in contact with you real father." Mom took her turn to speak, "When Mike and I handled the case he was devastated through it all, he's a good man, and you would be safe with his Callie. We were fairly close after the case, but we just lost contact after time"

Callie looked at us with determined eyes and with an air of finality she stated:

"Well then we had better get to the Police Station."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Ring Redemption**

Mom and Lena loaded into Dad's police vehicle shortly after I went back into the house and told Mariana that we were headed out, to take care of Jesus and Jude, and to not let our little discovery slip.

Callie and I took the family car and drove behind them at a steady 60mph. Our hands were clutched together on top of the storage compartment between our seats. I unwisely took my time examining her, every feature; memorizing everything so that I wouldn't forget.

Until now, I had never noticed how she was completely clear of any make up, her hair had grown out in the months that she had lived with us, and it hung in loose curls just past her shoulders. Her pale pink lips were permanently curved upwards in the corners, and they were captivating with a smooth shapely figure.

My phone buzzed beside me, I picked it up as the ringtone started and pressed on the green button.

"Hey mom" I started, "Callie and I are going to pull over for a moment, she's getting a bit anxious"

Callie shot me a confused look.

"Ok then, we'll meet you at the station in an hour or so" I hung up.

I pulled onto the next side road and through an old field.

I shifted the car into park and pulled out the keys, I walked around the other side of the car and held the car door open for Callie.

No words were exchanged; she just slipped her hand into mine and let me guide her through the field.

The grass was a dull green and was long overdue for a trim, the stone walls the encapsulated every individual field were turning to dull rubble. But where we were headed it had a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's was like something out of a Robert Frost poem.

I lead Callie over there, it was only a twenty minute walk, but through the hills and exiled fields, I felt like an old man trying to run a marathon. Now the weeping willow tree was in sight. I lead her under the branches and rested myself against the trunk, while she sat on an old wooden swing.

"Why did you bring me out here?"

I smiled a little to myself.

"If I'm going to be completely honest: I have no fucking idea." I rested my head against the trunk too, "Callie, when I was little, I always thought that I would end up marrying the girl of my dreams. I had no idea who she was at the time, I only knew her name"

"What was her name?" She came and sat down next to me, her head resting on my shoulder, not minding the pieces of bark that would stick in her hair later on.

"Her name was Emily Lovett"

Callie tilted her head at me, probably in confusion.

"When I was younger, and Mom and Dad were still together, they worked on the Lovett case for six months. And one day I met Bradley Lovett. He was sitting on our couch, crying." I smiled in spite of myself, "I thought that maybe he had lost his dog or cat, and that maybe I could help him. So I went over to him, and sat beside him on the sofa. I asked him what was wrong. He said to me '_Somebody has taken my wife and children, and I miss them a lot"_

Callie was smiling too now.

"Well, being my six-year old self, I could do anything but ask more questions, so I asked him_ 'did you have a daughter sir?', _well, he laughed at me a little, and they told me yes. So my only response for him was '_don't worry sir, one day I'll find her and bring her home for you.' _He smiled a bit more and then asked me, '_when you bring her home, what should I give you in return?'_ I had to sit and think about what I wanted for a minute, but once I had decided, I knew that was all that I could ever want."

Callie keenly waited for me to reveal my response to Bradley, but I pulled her up till we were both standing, and led her over to the wooden swing once more. She instinctively sat down on it, and I continued to hold her hand.

"so I told Bradley that I wanted old one thing" I started, "I told the sad man one the couch that '_one day I'll find her and bring her home for you, sir, but then'" _I knelt on one knee, "_'Then you have to let me marry her.', _So Callie, one day, after I take you home, would you" I produced a velvet box from my coat pocket, "Marry me?"

I opened the box, and in the little gaps of sunlight that had fought through the thick layers of the tree, you could see a small diamond ring, with a sleek sliver band.

The tears being seized on the brim of her eyelids, threatened to tumble past the poorly enforced barriers. Her lips quivered and I felt myself being pulled into everything that was her.

I still knelt with the ring before me, as an offering.

It was barely noticeable, but it was there, a nod. A yes.

"Yes, she choked out, "Yes, Brandon, one day you can marry me"

I removed the promise ring from its box, and slid it on her ring finger. It fit like a glove, which wasn't a surprise because after all, while she was sleeping I took it upon myself to measure her.

I captured her mouth in a kiss, passionately smashing my lips into hers, enjoying the feeling of her fingers grabbing my hair, searching for a better grip as we fell back wards into the grass.

She interrupted our kiss with a question.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Well, yesterday, when I found out who you were, I decided to take a late night visit to my grandma. Needless to say, I spilled my guts out." She started to laugh at me, "And after that, I told her about how I was planning on getting you a promise ring, and how I had your measurements and everything. She disappeared into the attic for a moment, and when she came back, she gave me this ring."

"It's gorgeous" She commented, still staring at it in awe, "Are you sure that you want to marry me someday? I'm not exactly the perfect girl, and I might be living in Beverly Hills in a week from now"

"I've thought about that, but I really don't care. We can still meet on the weekends and on the holidays"

"C'mon, we should get going" She smiled at me in appreciation.

It was only a 10 minute walk back to the car, on account of it being downhill. We laughed and smiled the entire way down, and Callie made me give her a piggy back.

When the silver vehicle in sight, Callie hopped off my back and tugged me towards it.

I trapped her between myself and the car door, remembering to tell her something before we had to escape back into reality.

"By the way" I whispered, a mere inch away from her lips, "I love you."

"I know." She whispered back, "And I love you too"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Because I Love Her**

I got in the car, barely avoiding the low ceiling, and anxious to get to the police station. My feet seemed to tap all by themselves and my entire body was rigid, but still shivering like a Chihuahua. Brandon lay a hand on my thigh, which I'm sure was an attempt to console me, but my brain was a livewire of events and words and feelings that I didn't know how to control.

It was a relief that I didn't have to drive there, because I was still frazzled by the proposal, under the tree that I had known since I was a young girl, but hadn't realised its significance till now.

I had played there ever since I could remember, my "dad" would take me out there on the days that mom had to do the housework, and I suppose that Brandon, Jesus and Mariana were the kids that I was never allowed to associate with. He said it was because they weren't safe to play around, now I know that he probably only took me there so that he could spy on Stef or Mike, whoever was playing the babysitter for the day.

Within the month, I could be living with my real dad, a man that I had no memories of, and no knowledge about. The entire situation scared me, but I wasn't one to complain about something that could potentially give me another home and a shot at a future with Brandon.

A future with the only person that had ever loved me even more because I told him the truth. I knew that Stef and Lena loved Jude and me, and their love had remained uncontaminated with after I told them about my even more sordid past.

Now that there was a small silver band slipped around my finger, I felt invincible, I felt at home. I knew that when school came around, then I would have to pull up my façade once again, but as far as being with the Fosters, I could be completely myself and they would be none the wiser. A benefit on my behalf, because then I could bear my promise ring openly with only a mention of it previously belonging to my mother.

The engine started and the wheels rolled on top of the gravel, and we hastily drove towards the Police Office that belonged to Stef's precinct. The highway followed suit after we reached the end of the gravel stretch, and we were cruising along in the slightly rainy afternoon.

We were parked in the lot within a matter of minutes, and I stared at the big stone building in fear. As soon as I stepped foot in that building, it was going to end like every other time I had stepped foot in a Police building. I would walk in with people who were supposed to be my guardians, and leave with Bill, and sometimes I was the lucky winner of the golden ticket that sent me straight to Juvie.

This time I had Brandon, but in the end game, he couldn't end the world of hurt that was coming for Jude and me. I wasn't lucky, and I prayed that he wouldn't realize that until we were stuck together for good.

He sensed my tension and gave my thigh a quick squeeze before walking around and practically pulling me out of the car.

Upon our entrance we were greeted by members of the police department that seemed to know Brandon like he was their own family, I, however, was greeted with warm welcomes of, "You must be Callie" and "Oh, you're Stef's new daughter!"

Then an officer that went by the name 'Buttons' guided us to the second floor, where Stef's new office sat in a corner. I guided myself around all the tables and desks and Brandon did the same behind me as we walked towards them.

Lena rushed towards me with an embrace and Stef smiled at me from where she was talking with a tall dark-skinned woman who started towards me.

"Callie Jacobs. I presume?"

"Uh, yeah, that's me" I furrowed my brow, was this the woman who was going to be asking me some questions? "What exactly are we going to do here?"

"Well, Callie" Her smile was slightly forced, and apparently she didn't like my question, "Today we will be taking some blood samples for DNA testing, and asking you a few questions about the last few years"

I nodded and she motioned another woman forwards, she was carrying two empty vials and a syringe, and a name tag that spelled 'Kim Harvey'.

She smiled at me briefly before wrapping a rubber rope around my upper arm and placing a needle into one of the bulging veins, with a vial catching all the blood.

The process was done swiftly, and at the end she slipped the vials into her briefcase and stuck a Band-Aid on my arm.

Before I realized what was happening, the floor was moving beneath my feet in a consistent blur with the desks passing us by. Stef had whisked me and Brandon into a handicap bathroom across the precincts and was staring us down.

"What the hell is going on here?" she questioned us fiercely, a manicured fingernail jabbing into Brandon's chest.

"Ouch, mom, what are you doing?" He backed away from the poking finger, "why did you pull us in here?"

I held my spot as Stef gave Brandon such a loaded glare that I was shocked he didn't cower away. The blonde's eyes had transformed, they seemed darker, like a shadow had been cast over them.

"Why the hell is Callie wearing that ring?" she asked, and we glanced at each other, both of us with a look of defeat on our faces.

"Callie is wearing that ring because I promised that one day I would marry her, mom"

"Why the hell would you do that?" she barked, "and how long has this been going on?"

"I did it because I love her mom!" Brandon answered with equal passion, "And we've only been together for a few weeks"

"Weeks! Brandon I can't believe that you let this happen, I trusted you!"

"This wasn't Brandon's fault" I stopped Stef right in her tracks, "Brandon didn't start this, I did. I'm the one who accepted this promise ring, and I'm the one who didn't stop him from being with me. So if you're going to punish somebody, then punish me."

Stef tried to speak again, but I wouldn't let her get a word in before I started talking again.

"Brandon is the first person that I have ever trusted outside my family, and he doesn't deserve to get caught up in all this legal crap. So if you're going to send me away, I'll say that I came on to him, and I will leave. So long as you keep Jude."

I must have said something right, because Stef's eyes lost their overcast look and softened up to the eyes that I had become used to.

"Sweetie, we aren't going to send you away" she started, "but what you and Brandon have been doing isn't okay, yes, you are young and in love. But you also lied to us, and we trusted you to be responsible. Both of you. We are going to be here for you forever, even if Mr. Lovett isn't your father. You do need to be punished though, and wearing that ring out in the open like that really isn't a good idea."

We both nodded in relief, and I slipped the ring into my coat pocket.

I suppose that putting the ring away now was a good idea, because when the weekend was over, I would be back in school. Where nobody knew anything.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: This is the first part of this story that I'm officially writing and taking credit for. I've spent three days typing it up and editing a lot. Hope you enjoy… {PS: The next update should be sometime next week. I will probably set up a schedule around my already busy one so all you readers can be looking forward to it.}**

**Chapter 11: Questions**

On Monday, school was back which means back to hiding and back to being Brandon's foster sister to everyone else. The weekend drained me and I haven't got to freely wear my ring around the house, stopping anymore lectures and glares from Stef about how we don't know what love is or how were too young to make such a big commitment.

Brandon has been assuring me that everything will work out in the end which I'm trying to believe. With all the stuff I've been dealt in my life I think a break from the stress is well deserved.

The only thing keeping me happy is the ring B gave me. He knew how much it meant to me and, on the other hand, how much it hurt me to have to hide a simple gesture that was his proposal for our future.

He came into me and Mariana's room one morning while I was just lying, eyes closed, enjoying the sun shining on my face with the peace and quiet that is sparse around the Fosters residence.

"Hey Cals," Brandon whispered walking in with an extreme case of bed hair and a sleepy smile on his sculpted face. He must have known I was already up because of my weird position.

"Heyy...good morning," I returned his grin and sat up leaning against the wall my bed is against, avoiding all the decorations hanging on the wall. A couple seconds later, we heard Mariana snorting and shifting in her sleep and we couldn't help but laugh at her drowsy antics.

"I just wanted to talk to you before school and everyone else got up." He came over by me and sat next to me on the wall grabbing my hand and interlacing our fingers. "I know you must be sick of all the drama and constant problems that seem to pop up; with the whole Lovett story and finding out that you might not really know whose child you are and how to handle that. You must be frustrated and really, really confused." He took a deep breath and continued while I rubbed my fingertips over his knuckles.

"I just wanted to say thank you," he finished with awkward grin on his face because he knew me enough to know that I wasn't one to necessarily accept praises. "I know that sometimes you can kinda shutdown, get closed off, and not want anyone to be close to you when you're going through so much. I just want you to know that I treasure any love you show me and all the small things about you that make you, you. Telling me you love me and accepting my proposal meant the world. I'm just so happy and appreciative because you can still be so strong. You're my rock and you make me want to be a better person." He continued taking a deep breathe like he was deep in thought.

"And it's the small things that make me love you even more every time I'm just, around you. Like when your eyes crinkle when you really smile, how you rub your nose when you're unsure of yourself, how big your eyes get when you're about to cr-mmm." I cut him off by pressing a chaste kiss upon his lips and then quickly pulled away. With a sneaky smirk, I finally looked up at him.

"It might be a little weird about how much you always look at me, but I think it's cute. So...I'll let it slide this time." He let out a low laugh while I held back the blush creeping up my cheeks and giggled at my own statement.

"I appreciate that you said all those things, but I don't think they're all true." When his adoring gaze turned into a little sadness, then confusion, I continued before he tried to interrupt. "I am over the moon about the proposal you set up for me. I don't think anyone else has ever given me something so meaningful and straight from the heart." My eyes begun to get hazy, then blurry thinking about how amazing the man in front of me is; he loves someone than has been through more than anyone should in a lifetime, let alone sixteen years.

"You give me my strength and unbelievable will to push on and be 'so strong' as you said. You're my inspiration and make me truly happy and feel love I didn't believe was left in the world. After all the things I have been through, I think-no. I know. I know I was meant to go through all the things I did to end up here in this house; to be right here with you right now because we were meant to be from the beginning." He had tears in his eyes now looking at me with his hypnotizing jade-colored eyes.

I reached across the length of my bed and got the silver circle that meant more than the world to me. "I just want to tell you that with or without this thing right here being on this finger…" slipping the diamond on my left ring finger "or not that I love you unconditionally." He leaned across the small distance and gave me a bone crushing hug, releasing me seconds later, just to be attacked with his body following the lips attached to them, which were currently putting me in a state of undeniable bliss.

"I love you. I love you. I love you…" he repeated, peppering my face with his kisses until we were interrupted by the clearing of a throat from the doorway, coming from the one who told us we were wrong to be together.

"Well I was coming to wake everyone up, but it seems like you two are well aware of the world..." We were still in our same 'sitting up against the wall' positions, and had bright red faces to match the bright colors of the room. Stef tuned before she left the room and said to us, "wake up your sister and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate you guys making out in the same room she's sleeping in." With that she probably went to get Jude and Jesus up, then get ready for work herself.

Brandon and I just sat there in a mini state of shock. I guess he recovered first and falsely cleared his throat, " Umm...I'm gonna go get dressed and you should probably wake up Mariana. She will be less tempted to throw something at you instead of me, first thing in the morning." He bent down and pecked my lips before making it to the doorway whispering an 'I love you' with a sad look traced with longing in his eyes.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

After beating out Jesus for food at breakfast, we all headed to the car to be dropped off since it looked like it was going to rain.

We all, except Stef who was heading to work in a couple of hours, loaded into the van. With the twins arguing about nothing in particular, Brandon and I moved to the backseat; while Jude, the saint he is, went into the second row between Mariana and Jesus to hopefully distract them so they would shut up.

Brandon and I finally got to our seats dodging flying hands from the overdramatic twins. I put my bag near the right window and moved Brandon's to the same spot so we could hold hands. He smiled a little but didn't look in my direction for our secrecy's sake.

Lena finally got the car in reverse and turned to make sure no cars were coming from her usual blind spots. As she did I pulled out my phone and texted Brandon about nothing.

Not paying attention, and smiling at what B sent as a response I begun to reply when Mariana turned around and asked a question in her own overdramatic nature.

"Hey Callie? Why didn't you sit near the window? I mean it's the best seat." I didn't want her to see my face of anxiety so I quickly sobered up and came up with what I would consider logical.

"Oh! Umm-I get nauseous when I'm in window seats."

"Oh, well personally, I would rather have nausea 'than having to sit so close to Brandon. I mean he's cool and all, but personal space is much appreciated."

"I'm fine and it's not like he has cooties and he's not even paying attention." I made my point by pointing towards him and Mariana got a weird look on her face. "What's up with the weird face?"

"Your hand…there's a ring on a finger…who gave you that? It's gorgeous. It looks like a wedding ring! OMG! Brandon, look at that thing!" She rambled that until she looked for a response from Brandon curiously probably looking for some show of surprise.

His head had snapped up when she had asked "who gave you that?" and he gave me an alarmed glance because I know, so I'm sure Mariana knows, how bad of a liar he is. "Ah…umm…I-I-I don't…," He cleared his throat when I secretly glared at him for not coming up with something on the fly. "Umm…I think she might have told me tha—at it umm…it was her mom's. Yeah she gave it to her, but she couldn't fit it until now."

"_Way to go Brandon! She's practically about to send you to a therapist with all the stuttering." _{**AN: No offense to anybody who actually has a speech impediment.} **I screamed in my head. Mariana seemed to shrug off his awkward actions and turned around.

We thankfully pulled up outside the school and we all filed out and went our separate ways except me and Brandon who I practically dragged to the music room so we could talk.

**To Be Continued**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: It has been awhile since I have posted and that is due to my extreme laziness this summer that consisted of me lying in bed all day. I just started working on this chapter again last week. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter 12: With A Promise**

Brandon and I finally made our way into the music room. Brandon let me go in first and closed the door, while I stood with a stern expression planted on my face. He had a confused look on his face and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at how cute he looked; even though I was supposed to be mad at him for being so thoughtless.

I stepped closer and lightly slapped him on the arm to get his mind on the same page as mine. "Dude," I whispered harshly.

"What did I do?" he looked at me weirdly for hitting him.

"You cannot be…I don't know…ugh…that _ignorant _when we are around other people, your family included. Mariana seems to be the person to ask a lot of questions so you need to be on your toes, and at least semi-aware of what's going on around you. You know that this thing," gesturing between the two of us furiously, "is still not to be seen in public. I don't want to even have a chance of somebody else figuring this out. And I love you, you know I do, but I don't want information ending up in the wrong hands. I don't want any information of even speculations about our relationship getting to somebody. I want to be around you as much as possible, but if you can't even keep your guard up around other people, we might have to keep our distance and I _really _don't want that!" I let out a little giggle, that surprised me and I finally opened my eyes after a heavy sigh and looked into his eyes that held a little shock, desperation, and laughter. I guess it's understandable, since I just kind of blew up and ranted in his face then joked around and laughed at myself.

"Oh…um," he stuttered quietly and looked down making me feel bad. I wasn't mad; I just want us to be precautious. "Sorry. About that, in the car, I just wasn't paying attention. I didn't really think about all of this like that. But, the other day, when we first saw the pictures of you and Jude, saying that it was the eleventh anniversary of the kidnapping investigation, I just didn't want to believe it and I kind of lost my head. It took Jesus to talk some sense into me, and that says something!" We both laughed at this. "He was telling me that if I wanted to keep you around I need to know how to control myself so that no one else knew about us. But, after my mom found out, and the fact that Jesus already knows, I just…..I guess I just didn't think too much of it. But it's completely understandable why you were so worried and I'm happy you feel like you can really tell me how you feel. I don't want us to have any secrets. But I do have something I want to ask you about later. But, that will have to wait because I'm pretty sure we're about to be late."

We both grinned awkwardly at each other and made our way over to the shut door. I turned to him and smirked. Standing on my tippy-toes, I planted a rough on his addictive lips and maintained my smirk as I told him 'okay' referring to talking to him later. He had a bashful grin in his face as he blushed and I laughed and I ran my hand down his arm before leaving the room.

…-~-…-~-…

During my classes throughout the day, I had been thinking about all the stuff that has happened in just the past seven days. I'm potentially Emily Lovett, which is, I guess, no longer coincidental because that was a name my mom believed was her middle name or maybe her mom's name, but my memories of her are a little fuzzy from time. I had to wrap my head around getting kidnapped with my family at such a young age, getting pulled away from my father who loved us a lot, just to end up with a drunken excuse of a father that basically chose to ruin an innocent family's lives. I potentially have a living relative that actually wants Jude and me; that is _my father_. I practically got proposed to, which resulted in my most prized possession from the guy I love. Thinking about the ring just got me into thinking about the time at the police station when Stef found out about Brandon and me.

_Flashback_

_Before I realized what was happening, the floor was moving beneath my feet in a consistent blur with the desks passing us by. Stef had whisked me and Brandon into a handicap bathroom across the precincts and was staring us down._

_"What the hell is going on here?" she questioned us fiercely, a manicured fingernail jabbing into Brandon's chest._

_"Ouch, mom, what are you doing?" He backed away from the poking finger, "why did you pull us in here?"_

_I held my spot as Stef gave Brandon such a loaded glare that I was shocked he didn't cower away. The blonde's eyes had transformed, they seemed darker, like a shadow had been cast over them._

_"Why the hell is Callie wearing that ring?" she asked, and we glanced at each other, both of us with a look of defeat on our faces._

_"Callie is wearing that ring because I promised that one day I would marry her, mom"_

_"Why the hell would you do that?" she barked, "and how long has this been going on?"_

_"I did it because I love her mom!" Brandon answered with equal passion, "And we've only been together for a few weeks"_

_"Weeks; Brandon I can't believe that you let this happen, I trusted you!"_

_"This wasn't Brandon's fault" I stopped Stef right in her tracks, "Brandon didn't start this, I did. I'm the one who accepted this promise ring, and I'm the one who didn't stop him from being with me. So if you're going to punish somebody, then punish me."_

_Stef tried to speak again, but I wouldn't let her get a word in before I started talking again._

_"Brandon is the first person that I have ever trusted outside my family, and he doesn't deserve to get caught up in all this legal crap. So if you're going to send me away, I'll say that I came on to him, and I will leave; as long as you keep Jude."_

_I must have said something right, because Stef's eyes lost their overcast look and softened up to the eyes that I had become used to._

_"Sweetie, we aren't going to send you away" she started, "but what you and Brandon have been doing isn't okay, yes, you are young and in love. But you also lied to us, and we trusted you to be responsible-both of you. We are going to be here for you forever, even if Mr. Lovett isn't your father. You do need to be punished though, and wearing that ring out in the open like that really isn't a good idea."_

_We both nodded in relief, and I slipped the ring into my coat pocket._

"_And don't think that I am trying to sabotage this relationship you guys have made together, I respect all love; but I do have a few questions."_

_Me and Brandon exchanged glances and gave synchronized shrugs telling her to go ahead and ask to help her impending curiosity. "What is it?" Brandon asked calmly._

_Raising her arm with her fist closed, she started numbering her curiosities. "First of all, where did you get the money to get a ring, second, when exactly did you guys get together, third, why so soon in your apparent relationship would you jump the gun and essentially propose with your….promise, and finally, does anyone else know about you two?" _

_This must be a usual antic for Stef, because Brandon let out a breathy sigh, with signs of amusement in his eyes. I just stood there and observed and watched as Brandon looked at his mom. Once he got a glimpse of her face, he sobered up and cleared his throat awkwardly. _

"_Okay, well, I didn't buy the ring, and no, I didn't steal it. I got the ring from Grandma the night after we saw the updated pictures of Callie and Jude on the news. We 'got together' as you say, the night you guys were stuck up north in the rainstorm. And Jesus knows about us because he caught us together, because we thought he was with you guys but it turns out he was in detention. So, we basically begged him not to tell. And the last of your questions, why I 'proposed with a promised' to her?"_

_I just stood back and continued to watch the scene unfold, while Stef looked incredulously at Brandon for leaving her wondering for such a long time with his final answer. Just when it looked like a vein was popping in her forehead, Brandon reached out and grabbed my hand snapping me from my trance making me look into his jade-colored eyes. He gave a slight smile as he told the most important part of our story. He talked slowly and had a far-away look in his eyes that still were focused on our intertwined hands as he began expounding the story. "When you and Dad were still working on the case with Bradley Lovett, I got to talk to him one time. I saw him crying into his hands on the couch and went to try and see what had happened and what was wrong. He told me that 'Someone has taken my wife and children, and I miss them a lot.' I smiled as I remembered how he had told me the first time._

"_So then I asked him if he had a daughter. He laughed a little and then nodded 'yes' to me._ Then I told him _'don't worry sir, one day I'll find her and bring her home for you.' He smiled a bit more and then asked me, 'when you bring her home, what should I give you in return?' I had to sit and think about what I wanted for a minute, but once I had decided, I knew that was all that I could ever want. I told Bradley that I wanted one thing." He stopped and got to the best part. "I told him that day on the couch that 'one day I'll find her and bring her home for you, but then…then you have to let me marry her." I looked up again blushing and saw Brandon smiling down at me I guess it looked like we were caught up in each other too much because Stef quietly, but sternly cleared her throat._

_When we gathered ourselves, Stef's eyes had softened and did even more so once Brandon put his arm around me. Her voice squeaked when she first began to speak, so she stopped and began again. "I never knew you spoke to him before. But, I now remember him saying something about how sweet and funny our son was. I guess I never really went into details with him about it." We all kind of just stood there as Stef stayed frozen in spot with unshed tears in her eyes. The sound of a knock on the restroom door broke us all from the trance we were in. Lena poked her head in and told us we should go ahead and leave to get back to the house before the twins and Jude destroyed it. We all gave smiles as Lena looked at Stef worriedly. She shook off her glance and waved her hand towards the door; the gesture Brandon copied letting me through the door first._

_End of Flashback_

Looking up from my notebook in Timothy's class, I glanced quickly around the classroom making sure I wasn't spaced out too much and didn't miss anything important. I looked at the clock near the open window and saw that the class was almost over and that made me think of Brandon once again. We have Algebra together next class and I can't wait to see him and hear what he has to say when we get home and can have time like a normal couple.

**A/N: Hopefully I can get at least five reviews, but I'll keep writing anyways (:**


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